Israeli military officials said their bombardment of Gaza could “intensify” in the final hours before a four-day ceasefire begins early Friday, while reports say Hamas morale has plummeted, causing it to many terrorists retreat to the south.
“[It’s] everything remains the same,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told reporters on Thursday.
Air artillery strikes “may even intensify” in the coming hours, Recht added, according to NBC News.
According to the BBC, Israeli shells were reported to have fallen in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis on Thursday, while heavy fighting is still taking place in northern sections of the city.
Meanwhile, some Hamas terrorists abandoned their weapons and fled south as the IDF continues to gain ground and has successfully eliminated senior officials, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The bodies of people allegedly killed in Israeli airstrikes are being buried on Wednesday in a mass grave in Khan Younis.MOHAMMED SABRE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The ceasefire, brokered by Qatar, where the top commanders of the Hamas terrorist group reside, will begin at 7 a.m. Friday local time (12 a.m. ET).
Starting at four in the afternoon, up to 50 hostages are expected to be handed over in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and trucks full of humanitarian aid and fuel.
Amid the carnage, stray dogs have reportedly begun feeding on corpses scattered among the ruins of Gaza City, Qatari officials said in a sober assessment of the situation on the ground.
“Dogs are eating the corpses of those killed in the streets,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told the Independent.
“We are facing an unprecedented humanitarian situation,” Al-Ansari added.
The apocalyptic scene echoes recent testimony from the director of Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-based nonprofit.
“Dozens of bodies are piled up in the hospital courtyard, decomposing and being eaten by wild dogs while the morgue has closed, and no one can move them for burial,” Melanie Ward, executive director of Medical Aid for Palestinians, testified to the UK. Parliament’s International Development Committee earlier this month, The Telegraph reported.
The Hamas-led government claims that more than 14,500 people have been killed across the Gaza Strip since Israel began its retaliation against the terrorist group for its October 7 sneak attack, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis and seized of 240 hostages.
A cloud of smoke and dust rises from the ruins of Gaza on Thursday, as Israeli forces press the attack ahead of a ceasefire. AFP via Getty Images Israeli soldiers search tunnels filled with Hamas weapons allegedly found beneath Al-Shifra hospital in Gaza.AP
Areas of Gaza have been secured by Israeli troops, who continue to sift through the elaborate network of tunnels beneath the city and root out terrorists.
One such tunnel was reportedly discovered beneath al-Shifa hospital last week, indicating that the terrorist group had been exploiting international humanitarian law meant to protect civilian medical centers during times of war.
“Hamas terrorist tunnel network located under the hospital [has] electricity exploited and resources taken from the hospital. Additionally, Hamas stored numerous weapons inside the hospital and on the hospital grounds,” the Israeli military said.
The IDF has released videos of weapons stored behind an MRI machine at the hospital.
“In addition, after the Hamas massacre on October 7, Hamas terrorists sought refuge in the hospital, and some of them took hostages from Israel with them.”
Israeli military officials said their bombardment of Gaza could “intensify” in the final hours before a four-day ceasefire begins early Friday. AFP via Getty Images
Hamas has denied the accusations.
However, to further support its claims, Israel on Wednesday released extensive footage and images showing a rare glimpse into Hamas’ 300-mile-long underground tunnel system through an entrance discovered at al-Shifa Hospital.
On Thursday, Israel confirmed that the hospital’s director, Dr. Abu Salmiya, had been detained at a checkpoint and taken into custody for questioning “following evidence showing that al-Shifa Hospital, under his direct management, served as the command and control center of Hamas.”
Meanwhile, the hospital evacuated its patients and staff to the south ahead of the ceasefire.
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